Sochi Olympic Torch to Travel to North Pole, Lake Baikal, and Outer Space

14,000 runners will be chosen to help complete the 123-day Olympic torch relay from Greece to Sochi, while passing through 2,900 cities, towns and villages in between. The custom-made, lightweight torches were unveiled yesterday in Moscow and the proposed route will make history.

"The main part of it, the burner, is designed to keep the flame burning in the most extreme of conditions – air temperatures of down to minus 40 Celsius, heavy rain, snow, sleet and wind of up to 25 meters a second," explained the chief designer Dr. Andrei Vodianik. "The burning torch is expected to be taken to the North Pole, to the top of Mount Elbrus, to the bottom of Lake Baikal and even to orbit."

According to the Russian fairy tale The Firebird, the one who obtains the Firebird’s feather gets good luck in its purest form and this is exactly what has been inspiring the creators of the torch. The Olympic torch is red and silver, while the Paralympic torch is silver and blue.

Engineers say the burner section of the torch has been specifically designed to produce a previously-unseen massive orange-red flame. However, more sophisticated devices will have to be added for successful trips to the North Pole, the bottom of Lake Baikal, and the International Space Station.

Russia’s Olympic Committee has promised that up to 90 percent of the citizens of the Russian Federation will be in "one step" proximity to the Olympic run. The selection of runners begins today.

The 123-day journey starts on October 7, 2013 and will cover 65,000 kilometers (40,389 miles) before arriving in Sochi.